cycling question for chess9 or any other knowledgeable person

Aye well done, CrMo Steel is strong stuff. You're smart for spending money on a bomber real wheel, that's where most of em break and with suspension forks you rarely see tacoed front wheels anymore.

The best tip anyone ever gave me about bieng a serious cyclist is to match tire to activity. If you got the funds I'd recommend more than one set of tires, even another set of wheels for those tires. For street riding, there is no reason at all you should be rocking a set of knobbies. your speed will suck, your cornering will be downright dangerous. Get a smooth slick tire, preferrably one you can pump up to more that 65 psi.

oh yeah one other thing: get this book:Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair
Do your own tuneups and wheel truing. It's pretty easy to keep your bike in running order. I know a ton of guys (racers especially) that have no clue how to toe in brakes -- on a $5k bike.

Aye well done, CrMo Steel is strong stuff. You're smart for spending money on a bomber real wheel, that's where most of em break and with suspension forks you rarely see tacoed front wheels anymore.

The best tip anyone ever gave me about bieng a serious cyclist is to match tire to activity. If you got the funds I'd recommend more than one set of tires, even another set of wheels for those tires. For street riding, there is no reason at all you should be rocking a set of knobbies. your speed will suck, your cornering will be downright dangerous. Get a smooth slick tire, preferrably one you can pump up to more that 65 psi.

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i got the tire thing covered for my area. its a cross between a knobby and slick since there are bumpy country type rodes mixed with some super smooth newer roads in my area. also ill deffently be picking up a maintnece book since its ludicris to pay a shop 30-50 bucks for a tune up when most of the time you can do it for less than 5 bucks. it also will be good to know how to true a wheel.

Good call. No sense beating on a new bike when your trying to lose weight. I would try to go used when you do want to get a new bike. You can find a 2-3 year old bike with better components than a new bike for the same price. Course you do lose the warranty or free tune ups and whatnot, but with some of the money you save, you can pay for annual tune ups and the occasional broken part.

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great minds think alike. i would never ever buy a new road bike. im also going ot learn how to do my own maintence so i would not have to pay a ton of money to get tune ups at lbs.i also have an old schwinn la tour and varsity in my garage that i might fix up for my road bike.

If you're sticking to the roads though, don't get knobbies. get a true slick for 26" rims, something you can pump up to 100psi -- the stiffness of the air protects your tire rim. You use low pressure on MTB tires for one reason: digging dirt with the knobs. In all other ways higher pressure is better for your bike's handling and tires.

If you're sticking to the roads though, don't get knobbies. get a true slick for 26" rims, something you can pump up to 100psi -- the stiffness of the air protects your tire rim. You use low pressure on MTB tires for one reason: digging dirt with the knobs. In all other ways higher pressure is better for your bike's handling and tires.

i was at bike shop and i used there indoor road cycling machine/trainer and i think i found my new sport. i know for sure ill be buying a road bike in the near future(when i lose 30 more lbs).i was riding on some cannandale racing bike. i was able to do 60 km in just under 55 mins,is that good? also ill most likely be buying used on this one,any recomendations for specific componeents i should be looking for?

i was at bike shop and i used there indoor road cycling machine/trainer and i think i found my new sport. i know for sure ill be buying a road bike in the near future(when i lose 30 more lbs).i was riding on some cannandale racing bike. i was able to do 60 km in just under 55 mins,is that good? also ill most likely be buying used on this one,any recomendations for specific componeents i should be looking for?

thanks again,

dominic(timokabo)

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That's not only great, it's almost impossible! What was being used to measure your distance?

Nice find!
I just bought my brother a used Schwinn mountain bike with some mediocre components on it for $100. You got a deal, I'd say.

I have my brother riding a bike for the first time since he was 14.

-Robert

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I love riding again,i did 60.5 miles so far of riding this week and just got back from a 14 mile ride.i was in shock when i got the peloton.I cant wait until it gets back from lbs getting tune up and new tires/tubes. from the info i found the peloton was the 2nd best road bike by schwinn in the mid 80's only behind the paramount.yesterday i was also able to snag a scott aerobar and a mint sell flite saddle for 10 dollars from a guy on craigslist.I also saw the link of the bike you have and i have to tip my hat to you,maybe someday ill be able to get something that nice.i have the cycling itch now

I got a 10+ year old Trek 1400 for $15. It has the stock shimano 105 components with downtube shifters on it. The condition of the bike is very good, and besides the usual cleaning, all I needed to do was replace tubes. Would you consider this a good deal?

I got a 10+ year old Trek 1400 for $15. It has the stock shimano 105 components with downtube shifters on it. The condition of the bike is very good, and besides the usual cleaning, all I needed to do was replace tubes. Would you consider this a good deal?

I got a 10+ year old Trek 1400 for $15. It has the stock shimano 105 components with downtube shifters on it. The condition of the bike is very good, and besides the usual cleaning, all I needed to do was replace tubes. Would you consider this a good deal?

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LOL. If the tires, brakes, derailleurs and cranks are ok, and the frame has no cracks I'd say you STOLE it. Enjoy! Lots of bargains like that at garage sales.

Have you guys seen the new Shimano 7900 grouppo and the new Campy 11 speed? Oooh, sweet. The Shimano stuff will be cheaper than the Campy 11 speed by quite a bit, for those who are interested. But, the Campy stuff just looks awesome, plus every part is replaceable.

Have you guys seen the new Shimano 7900 grouppo and the new Campy 11 speed? Oooh, sweet. The Shimano stuff will be cheaper than the Campy 11 speed by quite a bit, for those who are interested. But, the Campy stuff just looks awesome, plus every part is replaceable.

-Robert

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yeah i saw the new campy 11 yesterday and my draws dropped,only if i could sell a kidney in the united states.the next bike i get im going to custom build and is eather getting campy super record 11,or sram red.i started training for triatholons for next year and am deciding if its worth the money to build a try bike or just throw aero bars on a uber nice road bike.i think cycling will help save my life and get me healthy again. also ill have some pics of my peloton up when it gets back from the shop, the paint is like new for a 28 year old bike. only blemish on it is a paint chip near the seat post water bottle mount that happend when it was shipped to the original owner.

yeah i saw the new campy 11 yesterday and my draws dropped,only if i could sell a kidney in the united states.the next bike i get im going to custom build and is eather getting campy super record 11,or sram red.i started training for triatholons for next year and am deciding if its worth the money to build a try bike or just throw aero bars on a uber nice road bike.i think cycling will help save my life and get me healthy again. also ill have some pics of my peloton up when it gets back from the shop, the paint is like new for a 28 year old bike. only blemish on it is a paint chip near the seat post water bottle mount that happend when it was shipped to the original owner.

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You may be right about saving your life. Being greatly overweight ruins your quality of life. Once you are fit you will wonder how you ever lived any other way. People who once smoke have the same 'conversion'. A friend of mine who is an ex-smoker is an ardent anti-smoking advocate and spends most of her time working with smokers helping them quit.

Have you guys seen the new Shimano 7900 grouppo and the new Campy 11 speed? Oooh, sweet. The Shimano stuff will be cheaper than the Campy 11 speed by quite a bit, for those who are interested. But, the Campy stuff just looks awesome, plus every part is replaceable.

-Robert

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the shimano stuff looks nice, working on the campy has got to be living hell

You may be right about saving your life. Being greatly overweight ruins your quality of life. Once you are fit you will wonder how you ever lived any other way. People who once smoke have the same 'conversion'. A friend of mine who is an ex-smoker is an ardent anti-smoking advocate and spends most of her time working with smokers helping them quit.

Good on ya' mate. Keep it up.

-Robert

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I hear you I have lost 3 pounds this week. i still have 70 more to reach my goal of weighing 200 lbs.

Wouldn't recommend Ironhorse or Diamond Back. While these companies still offer decent high end versions of their bikes, they are now marketing the mid to low end bikes to big box sporting goods stores (*****, Sports Authority, etc), who don't generally have knowledgeable service staff on hand to properly build the bikes, and the frames are poorly crafted and parts specs are particularly shoddy. If you plan on being rough at all with the bike, expect parts to start breaking. In addition, because the frames are pretty poorly made, shifting and brake adjustment is hard to dial in (poor chainlines, poorly placed brake posts). I worked for three years as a bike mechanic, and saw first hand how fragile these bikes are. Other brands to stay away from, IMO are Schwinn (obviously), Mongoose (another obvious), and Motobecane. Motobecanes are deceptive, because they spec their bikes pretty well. But they ride horribly harsh, and have the same poor frame construction as the others I mentioned.

On the other hand, the other companies you listed are all reputable and solid. From there, it is just a matter of riding several bikes and deciding which one feels the best to you. Price points will be similar for all of them. A few to add to your list are Jamis, Fuji and Giant. All three of these companies are making great bikes at great prices. Gary Fisher is made by Trek, so it is essentially a Trek bike. Trek and Specialized offer full lifetime warranties on their frames. I've seen the Specialized rep replace 25 year old frames for customers. Same with Trek.

Bottom line, you can't really go wrong with any of these manufacturers as long as you like the feel of the bike. It is of utmost importance that you test ride any that you are thinking about.

are Motobecane and dawes good companies? since i see these super cheap brand new on ****

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I completely agree w/u that motobecanes su@@ (got mine on e-bay for 400ish a year ago) it was a full suspension (btw, dont get full suspension and disk brakes, save that for a motorcycle as its impossible to pedal) and it was garbage, gears messed up all the time, was super heavy, and felt like a piece of junk, rattly etc...i missed my trek 4500 really bad. the trek was the best bike i've ever had. super heavy duty and just very reliable.

u would think that most bikes w/similar components are created equal but they're not. personally i would go with trek if you're on a budget. there are super expensive bike companies out there like Felt among others. whats that company that makes carbon fiber bike frames where the seat is on a long flat piece of carbon fiber connected to the frame (hard to explain but very weird and in the thousands)

btw, i recently got an electric/hybrid mountainbike that i love, it looks like ur pedaling but u don't takes u up to 15 miles on one battery @ 15mph. its awesome, quiet, and best of all it looks just like a regular mountainbike. its the ezip trailz http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrjJ9cysPW0